By Any Other Name
by Loslote
Summary: This is a series of drabbles about the next generation. Each chapter examines the traditional meaning of a flower. They'll be all sorts of genres, depending on what the meaning of the flower is, but most of them should have funny bits.
1. Absinth

**A/N: Don't mind me; I'm just being silly, messing about with things not my own.**

By Any Other Name

Absinth/Wormwood: Separation and Torment of Love

Rose leaned against the wall, staring up at the ceiling. She could hear her friend, Alice, sobbing on the bed next to her. She ran her fingers through her hair.

"Alice," she said softly, "do you want me to get you some chocolate?"

"Yes," Alice wailed. Rose backed out of the dormitory and hurried down the stairs.

"Hey, Rose," her cousin said calmly when she reached the bottom. "Another chocolate run?"

"Absolutely," Rose said, flopping onto the couch next to him. She held out her hand. Albus dropped a bar of Honeyduke's chocolate into it. Rose leaned back against the couch – Alice thought she was going all the way down to the kitchens, so she had a brief respite.

"When do you think she'll realize that he'll be back in a week?" Albus asked.

"No idea," Rose mumbled. "Merlin, I hope it's soon."

"Think she'll cheer up for Easter?"

"Cheering Charm if she doesn't."

"You wouldn't."

"If she keeps this up, I would."

"It can't be that bad," Albus said. Rose rubbed her eyes with her hands.

"It's not," she said. "It's worse."

"Girls and their bloody emotions," Albus said. "I'm so glad to be a bloke…"

"Yes, this way you can have the emotional range of a toothpick."

"You stole that from your mum."

"It applies."

"Only—"

"Rooose," came a tortured wail from upstairs. Both cousins looked up with identical grimaces on their faces.

"Just a second, Alice," Rose called. She was answered with a loud sob. She pushed herself up off the couch with a groan. "Wish me luck," she muttered to Albus.

**A/N: This is the first in a series of Next-Gen drabbles. They will all be centered around a flower and its traditional meaning. For a fun bonus, you can google the flower to see what it looks like, then review.**

**Or you can do the sane thing and raise an eyebrow, then edge away from your computer. Either way. :)**


	2. Acacia

**A/N: It's not mine. Not really.**

By Any Other Name

Acacia: Platonic Love, Concealed Love

Rose relaxed against Scorpius's chest, letting the last of the sun rays warm her face. She sighed contentedly – OWLs were finally over, and the next week or so would be relaxing and fun, almost like a weeklong weekend, before they had to go home.

When the last of the light sunk beneath the mountains, Rose stretched and sat up off Scorpius. He glanced up from his book and smiled distractedly.

"You'll ruin your eyes reading in dim light," Rose said. "Let's go in."

"There's still light," Scorpius said. "I'm almost done with the paragraph."

"Mmhmm," Rose murmured, flopping back against him. He adjusted slightly without looking up.

"Whatcha reading?" Rose asked after a moment. "It better not be a textbook."

"It's not," Scorpius said.

After a moment, Rose cleared her throat.

"Oh, right," he said. "_Much Ado About Nothing_."

"Shakespeare."

"Mm."

"You almost finished with your paragraph?"

"Oh, yeah," Scorpius said. "Right, sorry. Almost done with the page, though."

"Mkay. What are you doing for summer?"

"Who knows. Probably going to spend some time in France; we have a summer home there that we usually spend a couple weeks at."

"You can visit my place if you like."

"Naturally."

"You finished your page yet?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm nearly to the end of the scene."

"Fine. How's your mum?"

"It's so creepy how you two get along. She's well."

"Good." Rose tipped her head up, craning her neck to be able to read Scorpius's book. "Any good?"

"I like it. Don't do that." Scorpius nudged her chin away from the bottom of the book so he could read it. Rose stuck out her tongue in the general direction of his face.

"Done yet?"

Scorpius sighed. "I suppose."

"You'll have time to read more later," Rose said.

"Yeah," he said, "but it was just getting good."

"Mm." Rose flopped onto the grass as Scorpius stood up. She look up at him piteously. He smirked and helped her up, dramatically offering her his arm as they walked back to the castle.

"Night, Rosie," Scorpius said as they parted ways.

"Night, Scorpie," Rose said, raising an eyebrow at Scorpius's use of her – rather detested – nickname. She waved lightly as she went to Gryffindor tower and he to Ravenclaw.

**A/N: Oh my darling reviewer type people…that's about it, really.**


	3. AconiteMonkshood

**A/N: Not even the title belongs to me.**

By Any Other Name

Aconite/Monkshood: Misanthropy and Poisonous Words

Albus and Rose looked at each other nervously before slowly opening the door and edging into the compartment. Their first train ride to Hogwarts, and the only place to sit was Albus' brother's compartment.

"Hey, everyone!" James announced as soon as he saw the two. "It's my baby brother and cousin!"

Rose managed to summon a grin/grimace. "Hi," she mumbled.

"Enjoy it while you can," James said to his friends. "Little Albie here won't be joining us in future."

"Oh, why?" asked one of James' friends. Rose couldn't help but notice that she was almost unnaturally blonde.

James smirked. "Albie is going to be a Slytherin."

"Am not," Albus said. James just laughed.

"'Cmon," Rose said, pulling on Albus' sleeve. "There seriously has to be somewhere else to sit."

There was, of course. And Albus was not Sorted into Slytherin. Instead, he, Rose, and Scorpius Malfoy all ended up at the Ravenclaw table, already good friends.

**A/N: I figure this is pretty self-explanatory, due to the fact that Al and Rose were Griffindors in Absinth and now are Ravenclaws, but these drabbles are not particularly cohesive. **


	4. Adam's Needle

**A/N: Still no.**

By Any Other Name

Adam's Needle: A Friend In Need

Scorpius looked down at Rose, torn between elation and sorrow. Rose did not share his conflicted emotions – she'd chosen sorrow and had dived head-first into its depths.

"Shh, shh," Scorpius murmured. His natural inclination was towards leaping into the air and dancing for joy, but he didn't think Rose would appreciate that very much right now.

"Why?" she whimpered, her voice muffled by Scorpius' shirt. Her face was pressed into his chest. "Why'd he leave? What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing," he said softly. "You're perfect."

"No I'm not," she said. "If I were…" she burst into sobs again, clutching Scorpius tighter.

"Yes you are," he said. "Finnegan's an idiotic git." Rose sobbed harder.

"No, wait, I'm sorry," Scorpius said, backpedalling. "I won't say his name anymore –"

"Why?" she wailed. "It was going so well!"

"There, there," Scorpius tried, patting her back awkwardly.

"You don't have to stay," Rose said, sniffling into his shirt.

"Of course I do," he said. "You're upset. What kind of a friend would I be if I left you all alone?"

Rose looked up to meet Scorpius' silver eyes with her own watery blue ones. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice think with unshed tears. As she buried her face again, Scorpius sighed. This was going to be a long night.

**A/N: Reviewers are to cheese as awesome is to yummy?**


	5. Adonis

**A/N: Consider me disclaimed.  
**

By Any Other Name

Adonis: Recollection of Life's Pleasure

Rose stared blankly at the page of her textbook, nibbling absent-mindedly at the ends of her hair. She'd probably read the same sentence before. She really wasn't sure.

"This is hopeless," she groaned. "I'm going to fail my OWLS and be stuck working for minimum wage in Mum's bookstore for the rest of my life."

"Take a break," Albus said. "You aren't getting anything done as it is, you might as well do something productive."

"No!" Rose insisted, trying to focus on the theory behind differentiating between omens of doom and portents of evil spirits. "OWLS are in three days. I can't take a break. I have to study!"

Albus rolled his eyes. This was not the first time they'd had this conversation. "You're done, Rose. You've got to take a break."

"Just let me finish my Divination notes," Rose insisted. "And maybe glance over Charms theory. And maybe practice a few Transfiguration spells…"

Albus sighed and stood up, walking out of the common room.

"What? Where are you going?" Rose called after him. "You have to study, too! Albus, get back here – Albus!"

She shook her head and turned back to her textbook. If Albus wanted to ruin his future, he could go right ahead and do so.

/

"Rose? Rose, wake up."

Rose blearily lifted her head, flushing a bit as she realized she'd fallen asleep all over her Divination. "Wasn't sleeping," she mumbled, glancing up to see Scorpius looked down at her, a smirk on his face.

"Right, of course," he said. "Come on, Rose, we're getting you some fresh air."

Rose protested furiously, but found herself dragged, pushed, and eventually carried out of the common room. Scorpius eventually deposited her by the side of the lake.

"What do you think you're doing?" she yelped. "I have OWLS. You have OWLS! We have to study."

"Nah, we're good," Scorpius said calmly, holding onto Rose's arm as she tried to fight her way back to the common room. He tugged her onto his lap and locked his arms around her waist. "We're practically top of our year, Rose. We'll be fine."

"You can't know that! What if we don't study enough and don't have good enough OWLS? If I don't get into NEWT level Charms, there's no way I'll be accepted as a Ministry official or a Healer or anything worth applying for!"

"Rose," Scorpius said calmly.

"And what if I accidentally mis-transfigure something in my practical and destroy the Great Hall? That happened to James, remember?"

"Rose," Scorpius said calmly.

"And what if I stir my potion clockwise instead of counter-clockwise and brew a poison by mistake?"

"Rose."

"What?"

"Let's go flying."

"What?"

"Let's go flying. Take your mind off it."

"You're insane," Rose grumbled. Scorpius grinned as he dragged Rose off to the Quidditch pitch.

/

Rose laughed, clinging to Scorpius as they staggered back into the castle. "And then, when you hit that tree," she said, gasping for breath from laughing so hard, "yours eyes just got so big! And your scream!" Rose broke out laughing again, unable to finish her mocking recap. Scorpius was either taking it all remarkably well or pretending she wasn't there, she could never tell.

As they turned the corner, they ran into Alice – literally. "Rose!" Alice exclaimed from the ground, her textbook strewn haphazardly across her head. "What are you doing? We have our OWLs in three days! You need to be studying!"

Rose froze, her laughter caught in her throat. "OWLs," she squeaked. "OWLs. OWLs!" she yelped, and bolted down the corridor.

"Merlin," Scorpius groaned, "here we go again."

**A/N: So…I've been MIA for a long time. Or, well, not really MIA, because you all knew (hypothetically, anyway) where I was…but I wasn't posting, at any rate. This isn't necessarily going to change that. I probably won't be posting any more frequently than I have been for the past year or so. I just wanted to write something again. Take a 'You're Welcome' or a "My Apologies', whichever better suits you.**


	6. Allspice

**A/N: Imagine a hearty sprinkling of disclaimer over this, with a bit of "do not own" throw in on top, and you'll have a pretty good idea of just how much of this I own.**

By Any Other Name

Allspice: Languishing

Professor Longbottom walked into the class. "Alright, class, put your heads down and take a nap," he joked, ready to go right ahead with a jovial, 'Just kidding – that's not why we come to class!'. He was a bit bewildered to see half the class actually do so.

"Erm…just kidding?" Professor Longbottom mumbled.

"It's too late, Professor," Rose said. "They're long gone."

Professor Longbottom sighed. "Everybody up," he ordered. "C'mon, class, wake up."

Scorpius raised his head and glared at nothing in particular, mumbling unhappily. "What'd you expect, Professor? It's bloody well Monday morning."

**A/N: Shorter than usual, but based off something that actually happened in my Music class the other day.**


	7. Almond

**A/N: If you mistake me for anyone who could possibly own anything related to Harry Potter, you are deeply confused.**

By Any Other Name

Almond: Indiscretion

Scorpius stomped grumpily around the fourth floor of the castle. His fellow Head, Rose, had fallen conveniently and abruptly ill enough to skip patrols that night. He might have believed her, too, except for the fact that she'd been perfectly fine earlier that day.

As he turned a corner, he heard certain unmistakable noises from behind a closet door. He grumbled under his breath. This was more Rose's job – she opened the door and did the scolding; he did the silent scowling from behind her shoulder, then either subtly smirked knowingly or shook his head in -disappointment - depending on the attractiveness of the girl - at the guy when Rose and the girl weren't looking. He'd never had to do the actual scolding, and he *really* didn't want to.

Cursing Rose under his breath, he slammed open the door – and froze. "Rose?" he yelped.

"Oh! Um, Scorpius, hi," Rose squeaked, prying herself off the guy she'd been plastered against. She smoothed her hair uncomfortably.

A thousand comments swirled through Scorpius' brain, all incredibly witty. 'Really, Rose, you know the patrol schedule!' 'You could do better.' 'A broom closet? You have a whole room to yourself!'

What came out of his mouth was more along the lines of a high-pitched "Nyaaaaaaahuh?"

"Erm, so…" Rose mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

Scorpius made more noises. They may have been words. He hoped they weren't the words he was thinking. Eventually, he managed to pull himself together enough to finally use one of those witty responses – "Well, carry on then" – and closed the door again.

"Carry on?" he said to himself, incredulously. "Carry on? Why in the name of Merlin's wrinkled great-aunt did I go with 'carry on'? What is wrong with you?"

Scorpius didn't pay much attention to the rest of his patrol. He was a bit busy slamming his head into passing walls. It was a highly distracting occupation.

**A/N: Maybe I'll be updating a bit more regularly after all. Who knew?**


	8. Aloe

**A/N: I'm a college student. Think for a moment: what are the odds that I own these characters? I'll give you a hint: **_**really bad**_**.**

By Any Other Name

Aloe: Wisdom and Integrity

Rose sat uncomfortably in her overly comfortable chair, fidgeting slightly as she kept her eyes firmly on the floor of Headmaster Flitwick's office. She could hear Professor Creevy – their Muggle Studies professor – fuming behind her chair.

"Well, Miss Weasley?" The Headmaster asked quietly. Rose's eyes shot up to meet his. "Is this true?"

"I didn't mean to, Headmaster! I was running late to History of Magic, and Peeves had gotten his hands on an invisibility potion, and he kept tripping me, and I didn't know Professor Creevy was moving our pottery experiments to his office, I swear, and I didn't mean to run into him and break them all, I really didn't!"

"Hush, now, Miss Weasley," the Headmaster said soothingly. "I know you are a young lady full of wisdom and integrity – a true Ravenclaw, if I do say so myself! Run along, now. I'm sure one of your friends can lend you their History of Magic notes."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Rose said eagerly as she got up from the chair and hurried out of the tower. She could hear Professor Creevy complaining loudly as she went. She hid a smirk until she'd left the gargoyles.

"Well?" Scorpius muttered, peeling off from the wall to walk next to her. "How'd it go?"

"I got off clean," Rose said. "Honestly, Scorpius, next time just do the assignment. He said no magic – you should've known he had a way to check! Besides, why do I have to do your dirty work?"

Scorpius grinned. "Flitwick has a soft spot for red-heads."

**A/N: When I first decided to write this, I'd forgotten that Dumbledore wouldn't be Headmaster because he was dead, and the drabble was going to go a whole different direction. :P**


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